A New Journey

So I have given it a lot of thought and have decided that when it comes to cardmaking, I am in love. In regards to selling my cards, I am thinking I should give it a go. Here are some of the cards I have in mind, though I also intend to make more complicated, layered ones, too. I thought simple would be the way to start, just to see how it goes. We will see!

All of the cards are blank inside, but with a themed tree on the front, to represent a season of trees...I love trees and thought it would be a cute way to express one's affection anytime of year. :) The first one would be fitting for St.Patrick's Day, Spring, or for a friend who is Irish/Celtic.

This one is obviously modeled for Easter, but would also make a great "Happy Spring" card. :)

This one is simple, but my favorite. It would be a great fit for "Just Because," "I love you," Valentine's Day, Anniversary, or even an "I'm Sorry" card.

This final one has little gift packages with bows on it. I thought it would be a great idea for Birthday, "Happy Holidays," or "Thinking of you" (when you find a special little gift that makes you think of someone you care about, but there is no holiday). Just some of what is on my mind for ideas. I would love to hear your ideas or opinions. What do you think? Do you think they are buyer friendly? They would be customizable color-wise, so the backgrounds and embellishment colors could be chosen by the buyer. I was thinking of selling them individually, as well as in a pack with a discounted sale price. Your thoughts? I will post more as I come up with cards for my Etsy shop, which I am in the process of setting up. When it is all set up I will post the shop address so you can check it out. I am also planning to put the cards up on a pinterest page to gain exposure...I am interested to see how this goes. In the meantime, I am working on a little more organization to make my creation station a little more user friendly. The goal is to be organized, but with easy access and visibility. Here is a little box I made last week to hold my washi tape. I'm in love!

This box is an altered Christmas tree light set box which I covered with craft paper, decorated with washi tape, and am also using to store my binder clips, which, strangely, look quite nice on the edges. I love it! Before I go I just want to add a couple random, but important thoughts. Thank you to all of you who have been kind, thoughtful, and encouraging to me regarding my craft hobby. I appreciate all the comments and the positivity that you have brought to something which is so important to me. I try to express my gratefulness as often as possible, but always feel there is much more to express than words can say. I would not be here without you, nor would I be posting on a blog, nor have the courage to apply for a design team position with a company as amazing and inspiring as Hero Arts. I cannot say it enough: Thank you. And, if you have not had a chance to check it out, you can check out the Hero Arts blog at http://ablognamedhero.blogspot.mx/. Happy Sunday!

Happy Friday!

Hello! Hope all is well! Just wanted to show a recent card I made for my Honey. This is one I am particularly attached to....

I picked up the stamp during Michael's Christmas clearance sale...fell in love with the snowmen! They are paper pieced and enclosed in a "snow globe" made from acrylic. There are tiny snowflakes stamped with white Staz-on ink if you look closely. Oh! And I got the paper in a huge Christmas paper pack that was on sale at Jo Ann Fabric. I was excited to put them to use, so this is what I came up with. It has been much easier to access all of my supplies since I reorganized...more on that later! Happy Friday! :)

So....something else to update you on...a confession! I am going to apply for the Hero Art Design Team!!! Wish me luck! :)

An Update For You!

Hello! How is everyone? I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to since it has been a few days since I posted....so...drumroll please...(this is exciting!)....I have decided to start selling cards and little crafty things, such as magnets and embellishments! So, the past few days have been about putting together a plan, including starting an Etsy and Pinterest account. I am not sure how this will go, nor do I want to get my hopes up, but we'll see. As soon as I have created and posted on my Etsy page I will let you know so you can check it out! :) Hope your Sunday was a great one. Talk with you soon! P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on getting things set up and organized, please let me know. I would love to hear how you do it! :)

A Couple More Holiday Projects :)

Here are a few more holiday projects I was working on and gave away for Christmas. They are magnets made from clothespins, with paint and modpodge. They are so fun and easy to make...plus they turn out REALLY cute!:)

Amidst all the holiday merriment and shipping, we have also been doing some brewing! We bottled our blueberry lambic and made a barley wine. It is currently fermenting, awaiting transfer and bottling in a couple weeks. So much fun! Our summer wine is also doing well. We finally got to taste it a couple of weeks ago as the malolactic fermentation is dying down. Busy-busy! :) Hope all is well with you and that you have a wonderful week...and of course, a Happy New Year! We are headed out of town to spend time with family, then will be back to start the new year fresh. Hope yours is a great one! :)

Just A Few Random Thoughts...

So, no pictures today...just some words. :) I am sitting here, looking around my desk at all the scrap shrapnel, thinking how amazing it is that I could make such a gigantic mess making one single card! Granted, it is not a simple card, but one with many components and layers, so the mess may be warranted, but how do I manage to get just about everything out and not notice? This MUST be a good thing, afterall, I spend my day surrounded by people, moving quickly, and constantly aware-often overstimulated and ready to hide. Could it be that this crafting is a form of meditation? Absolutely! I love that I can be peaceful, focused, and so in the moment without any interruptions...not even the urge to clean up...which says a lot since I usually clean up after myself, as I go, with any other daily task. So, sigh, I am content to look around, reflectively, and realize that the "mess" is actually a good, productive thing for me in the oourse of any given day. Secondly, I am wondering if anyone else ever looks at their well-loved supplies and thinks about the sheer extravagance of the items...yes, they are made of simple components-paper, glitter, ink, fabric, etc...but that is my point. Can you think of a simpler time when one would have thought, "How wasteful! I could make a dress from all those bits of fabric that she is so (carelessly) gluing onto paper!" At times like that I feel guilty as I am reminded that we take so much for granted, including the amount of resources we are so fortunate to have, and, perhaps, waste. So, as I glue each piece and choose the project, be it memorabilia or gift, I remind myself to be grateful-mindful of the many ways in which I am fortunate and spoiled-and, thus, my meditation continues...

More Holiday Festivities...

The holidays have been wonderful with family and crafting, as well as many memories recalled. :) Here are some of the other projects I have been working on this holiday season:

A card I made for a customer that I care for...

Table mats I made for my parents...(the words reminded me of my Dad and how special he has always made Christmas for us)...

Cookies I made for the fall season....

Hot cocoa, which is always a great idea, especially when it is cold and snowy outside and we are warm and cozy inside...

And bread I cooked for our Christmas dinner...it was a magnificent feast! Just the two of us, cooking as if there was a ton of people...turkey, gravy, stuffing, red potatoes, green beans, challah with sesame seeds, and cheesecake with a vanilla bean cinnamon cherry topping. Yum! We are so fortunate!

And here is a picture of the beautiful dinner my Mom made for Thanksgiving. There is no cooking like Mom's! After dinner we decorated the tree as a family and laughed together. It was exactly what I needed. Sometimes it is hard to be so far away from family. Other times it is absolutely a blessing! :) In any case, I miss them each every day and think of them all the time. They're the best.